Fiber box and mobile plan, which quadruple play offer to choose this week?

Quadruple play adds a mobile plan to the Internet, TV and landline trilogy. All services are grouped together on a single invoice. Despite the end of summer promotions and slightly higher prices, there are still good opportunities. Given the multitude of existing quadruple play offers, we had to put the three operators on an equal footing to obtain a fair comparison. We therefore chose a fiber box, with a downlink speed of at least 1 Gb/s, with a television and fixed telephony offer plus a mobile plan.

At Free, the 5G mobile plan with 150 GB of data at 19.99 euros per month goes to 15.99 euros when it is associated with a Freebox like the Freebox mini 4K for a total of 31.98 euros per month. Orange offers a formula including the Livebox Up and a mobile plan with 70 GB at the price of 37.99 euros per month. The incumbent operator remains the only one to market true quadruple play offers. Indeed, the competition opts for a handset with the choice of a box and a mobile plan. Finally, SFR has chosen a fully customizable formula. The best value for money is based on the SFR Box 8 at 26 euros per month and the 4G+ plan with 80 GB of data at 20 euros per month. The discount of 10 euros from this offer lowers the monthly subscription to 36 euros. You will be asked for a 12-month commitment, with the exception of the Free mobile plan, which remains without commitment. So, what is the most interesting offer?

The mobile plan

Free is the most generous because its mobile plan includes unlimited 4G+/5G data. Calls are unlimited to landlines and mobiles in France, Canada, the USA, China and the overseas departments as well as to landlines in more than 100 destinations. Text messages and text messages remain unlimited of course and an additional 25 GB envelope allows you to use mobile Internet from 70 foreign countries including the USA, Canada and New Zealand.

Orange limits itself to unlimited calls and SMS/MMS in France, Europe, overseas departments, Switzerland and Andorra. The 70 GB of 4G+ data can be spent in France, Europe, in the overseas departments as well as in Switzerland and Andorra. The incumbent operator is once again the poorest.

Like its competitors, the SFR package has 80 GB of 4G+ data in mainland France. The envelope can be used from abroad (Europe, DOM, Switzerland and Andorra). Calls and SMS are unlimited to all landlines and mobiles in France and overseas departments. MMS are only sent to France. In Europe, in the overseas departments, in Switzerland and Andorra, calls, SMS and MMS are unlimited from these countries.

Note: these packages include a twelve-month commitment, with the exception of Free. The three operators obviously allow connection sharing.

Advantage: Free

Internet box and TV decoder

With an Ethernet cable, Orange places itself ahead of its competitors, because its downstream speed reaches 2 Gb/s in the event of simultaneous connection of several devices. Free and SFR promise up to 1 Gb/s in download speed. Orange and Free come together on the uplink with 600 Mb/s. SFR is a little behind with only 500 Mb/s.

In Wi-Fi, the delivery of the boxes is different. The Livebox Up and the SFR Box 8 are based on WI-FI 802.11 AX, i.e. extremely fast Wi-Fi 6, because its maximum theoretical speed reaches 10.5 Mb/s. Without achieving this dazzling performance, it is faster than the AC Wi-Fi broadcast by the Freebox mini 4K. Wi-Fi 5 does not exceed a maximum theoretical speed of 5.3 Mb/s. Orange therefore scores two points in terms of connection quality offered.

For fixed telephony, SFR and Free achieve a virtual draw by offering unlimited calls to landlines in around a hundred destinations around the world (100 for the red square brand and 110 for the telecom troublemaker). Orange stands out with unlimited calls to landlines in France, the overseas departments, the USA and Canada and mobiles in France and from the Europe zone, the overseas departments, Switzerland and Andorra, but also the USA, Canada and China to these same areas and France. The incumbent operator garners an additional bridge.

For television, Free dominates without question with more than 220 channels included in the basic offer. SFR tries to follow with 160 channels and Orange brings up the rear with only 125 stations. All boxes support 4K or UHD (ultra high definition). In addition, the Freebox mini 4K runs on Android TV, which gives it access to applications from the Google Play Store. In terms of connectivity, the boxes all offer at least four Ethernet ports.

Advantage: Orange

The prices

Unfortunately, perennial prizes on quadruple play deals are rare. Thus, at Free, after the first 12 months at 31.98 euros, the price jumps to 50.98 euros monthly. At SFR, beyond the first year billed 36 euros per month, the bill rises to 70 euros. Small subtlety, the operator also asks for 60 euros in fees (opening of the mobile line, SIM card and opening of the fixed line) when subscribing. Finally, Orange, after a year spent at 37.99 euros, inflates the price of the monthly subscription to 71.99 euros. Financially, the calculation presents no difficulty and as in previous comparisons Free is the most economical.

Advantage: Free

Verdict: Which is the best offer?

If you are wealthy and always looking for maximum performance? Orange's offer seems cut out for you. But honestly, the speeds offered by the Freebox mini 4K, its well-made equipment, its vast catalog of television channels and the qualities of its package make mobile its formula a natural winner. Before cracking, check the amount of your cancellation fees (between 50 and 70 euros) and whether they will be covered by the new operator.